March 12, 2015

It’s Math

Greg Easterbrook’s recent column “Our Navy is Big Enough” in the New York Times demonstrates that one lecture at the Naval War College does not a naval expert make. Easterbrook advances two arguments. First that the Navy, at 275 ships, is large enough to meet all of the nation’s naval maritime security needs. Secondly he states that the Navy’s proposed budget proposed budget of $161 billion is far in excess of spending requirements. That he would correlate the size of the Navy’s budget with the size of the force deployed demonstrates his shallow awareness of matters maritime. In both the case of the size of the fleet and the size of the budget, it all comes down to math.

The size of the fleet is measured largely against two separate standards. The first is the size of the force necessary to fight and win the nation’s wars. This standard often looks first to the capabilities a potential challenger might field and then estimates the size of the US naval force required to ensure US victory. Such analysis attempts to present the capabilities required to operate in a lethal and effective manner. Cost and efficiency factor into these calculations but not in a large way. Decisive victory is the objective.

Read the full piece at USNI.

  • Video
    • December 11, 2024
    Syria: What Happened and What Comes Next

    After more than a decade of civil war involving major interventions from foreign powers, over the past week a rebel alliance incredibly rapidly gained control of city after ci...

    By Richard Fontaine

  • Podcast
    • November 13, 2024
    The Future of Russia and China in Central Asia

    Despite the many proclamations that Russian and Chinese interests would collide in Central Asia, Moscow and Beijing continue to work together in service of their shared object...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor & Jim Townsend

  • Reports
    • November 12, 2024
    Russia and China in Central Asia

    Executive Summary Despite the many proclamations that Russian and Chinese interests would collide in Central Asia, Moscow and Beijing continue to work together in service of t...

    By Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Lisa Curtis, Kate Johnston & Nathaniel Schochet

  • Video
    • November 8, 2024
    ‘Trump Will Use His Strength For Peace': Ex White House Official

    Lisa Curtis, Director of Indo Pacific Security Program at the Centre For A New American Security, says that in his second term, Donald Trump has learnt to be careful with his ...

    By Lisa Curtis

View All Reports View All Articles & Multimedia